Monday, November 5, 2012

SWN Faction Game: Movement and Geography

There is something about the design philosophy of Stars Without Numbers were categories are sharp.  Starship levels go from Fighter, Frigate, and Cruiser; each one much bigger and more powerful than another.  The Faction game is no different.  At one ability level, it may be possible to hold together a small stellar empire - but probably not much bigger.  With another power level - wham - you can march across the sky with your jack boots.

When setting up your factions in a sector, it's important to have an idea of scale.  Stars are arranged in hex patterns, and each level of distance away is strategically huge.  A clump of stars together at zero hexes apart would be relatively easy to control, as long as you had the right amount of Force, Cunning, or Wealth.  Move outside that cluster, and it becomes almost impossible to affect anything without a great deal of effort.  Inter-cluster invasions are nearly impossible without the right combination of sneaking in, establishing bases, moving more covert forces in, and then blasting away.  Strategery, or something like that.

Want to have influence on a system more than three hexes away?  Impossible in the Faction game.  That's where the PCs come in, of course.

Below is a list of Faction Assets from that game that I've worked up, describing assets with movement abilities - either itself of hauling other assets.  Its' probably important to have a grasp of this chart before finalizing the factions in your sector.  Intergalactic domination can be difficult and expensive. And yeah, you may notice that your big shiny Strike Fleet can't make it from cluster to cluster.  You'll have to invade a cluster, gain a foothold, and buy a whole new Strike Fleet for operations in the new cluster.  What is an evil overlord to do?

Force Level Tech Can Move? Distance Move Cost
Beachhead Lander 4 4 Any (multiple) 1 1
Blockade Fleet 5 4 Self 1 0
Capital Fleet 8 5 Self 3 0(2 upkeep)
Deep Strike Landers 7 5 Non-Starship, Self 3 2
Extended Theater 4 4 Non-Starship, Self 2 1
Heavy Drop Assets 2 4 Non-Starship, Self 1 1
Space Marines 7 5 Self 1 0
Strike Fleet 4 4 Self 1 0
Cunning Level Tech Can Move? Distance Move Cost
Covert Shipping 3 4 Special Forces 3 1
Covert Transit Net 6 4 Special Forces (multiple) 3 0
Smugglers 1 4 Special Forces, Self 2 0
Wealth Level Tech Can Move? Distance Move Cost
Blockade Runners 5 4 Military Units, Special Forces, Self 3 0
Freighter Contract 2 4 Non-Force, Self 2 1
Mercenaries 3 4 Self 1 0
Scavenger Fleets 8 5 Self 3 0(2 upkeep)
Shipping Combine 4 4 Non-Force, Self 2 1
Surveyors 2 4 Self 2 0
Transit Web 7 5 Non-Starship, Non-Force (multiple) 3 1

- Ark

Sunday, November 4, 2012

SWN Factions: The Begining

The key thing about Factions in Stars Without Number is they need to be pissed at one another.  It doesn't really matter if they are a gang in control of a inner city block, or a star spanning empire - they just need the desire to do harm to ANOTHER faction.  The harm could be physical, logistical, or financial.  Someone is threatening their turf, and that somebody must be taken DOWN.

I'm going to go through the steps to create and run a Stars Without Number Faction Game here on the blog, using my Redshirts campaign as a basis.  Now, the factions and the PCs in Redshirts are typically very far from one another.  The main factions are active in the home sector.  The PCs are off in other sectors, exploring and such.  But the two are closely linked, because the PCs are searching for assets that their home faction can use to survive and destroy it's enemies.

First off, it's handy to have a place where these factions can fight.  Chapter Seven: World Creation, has a really nifty sector generation system.  Yeah, it's like Traveller, except where Traveller's sub-sector generation mainly deals with the physical placement and attributes of star systems, Star's Without Number focuses on the adventure potential of said star systems.  Actually, you could probably use the creation systems of both, in concert, and have some pretty nifty results.

But whatever . . .

So, after the dust settles, I stare at the sector map and try to understand the relationship of the worlds I just created, physically and ideologically.  Empires and Federations morph into my head, and a rough history develops.  it's the kind of creation that's hard to quantify, as it just happens in my head.  Call it a Gedankenexperiment.  But if I see the potential for a group to dislike another group, I try to turn up the amp to ELEVEN and make them loath one another.

I'm not going to get into the specifics of each world.  Actually, there are a lot of nifty secrets about the systems that come up in sector creation that the players definitely do not need to know (yet,) and besides, the Faction Game is rather abstract, and we don't  need to know too many specifics other than where worlds exist in relation to one another.

I decided that the Ptolemy Sector had four major factions, two being superpowers, two being minor players. I felt that would be enough to get the ball rolling.  Those factions are the Aquila Union, Skorpios Empire, the Alliance of Independent Systems, and Almagest Rebellion.


Aquila Union - During the Silence, the inhabitants of Aquila fashioned a government using the long gone United States of America as a template.  This was successful, and as they rebuilt and explored the sector, they offered the denizens of other planets egress into their union.  Due to the sheer power and reach of Aquila, it was hard for other systems to say no.  The influence of Aquila continued to expand until the Skorpios Empire entered the stage.


Skorpios Empire - Russian speaking researchers on the fugus infested planet of Skorpios Prime began horrific experiments after the Terran Mandate fell, eventually creating a race of vat-bred neo-humans infused with alien fungal DNA.  Assured by their Scientist-Emperor that theirs was a better way, the Skorpios Legions spread into the Ptolemy Sector to proselytize at the trigger end of a gun barrel.  Needless to say, everyone loves the Skorpions.


Alliance of Independent Systems - Tired of the endless war between Aquila and Skorpios, the systems on the fringe rallied together to break from the warring superpowers and create a haven of peace and economic freedom.  In reality, the Alliance devolved quickly into an area controlled by greedy warlords intent on squeezing wealth from the weak.  The green flag with yellow circle replaced the skull and crossbones within the Ptolemy Sector.
Almagest Rebellion - The quiet planet of Almagest was recovering nicely from the Scream, rebuilding its government, infrastructure, and social institutions.  Then the Skorpios Empire invaded, labeling all inhabitants as slaves and test subject for the greater good of science.  No one on Almagest felt really good about the turn of events, and they have been fighting underground ever since.  The rebellion is tenacious, if not well armed or funded.  They consider the Skorpions insects to squash, and anyone who reminds them that scorpions are arthropods, not insects, gets punched in the nose.

The war between Aquila and Skorpios went on for a hundred years, sometimes hot, sometime cold, but stable, for the most part.  Both sides were equally matched, and brought every world in the sector into the fray.  Neutrality was not an option.  But then the system of Talus lead a unilateral revolt against the two superpowers, forming the Alliance of Independent Systems.  Talus had been allies with Aquila, and it's loss was devastating.

Realizing that they didn't have much time on their hands.  Aquila spearheaded an invasion of a system rumored to have stores of advanced technology, discovered an ancient spike drive capable of a 4 hex jump, and launched the Void Expeditionary Force to secure more technology in a previously unreachable sector of space.

So, that is sector situation for the Redshirt Faction Game.  I'll be getting into the nitty-gritty in later posts.

- Ark

Friday, November 2, 2012

Galactic End Game


The players in my first Star Frontiers campaign had big dreams.  They wanted to eradicate the evil Sathar from the universe, and poured their time and effort into they endeavor.  Trade brought them money; money built them a mega-corp; and with the mega-corp, they built armadas of warships of find and obliterate the Sathar homeworld.

Of course, there were no rules of game framework for any of that, but as a GM, I evolved a game about being a star cop into a giant game of stellar Axis and Allies.  Or, in today's terminology, we created an end game.

One of the things I like about Stars Without Numbers is that it has the end game built in it right from the start.  In creating sectors full of stars, a GM can set up interplanetary chess matches.  Each entity is a faction, with stats and assets similar to a PC, and these groups battle for dominance.  It's secret and behind the scenes as far as the players are concerned, but produces events that the PCs can become involved in.

When the PCs gain enough power and influence, they can from their own faction, step onto the galactic stage, and vie for power.

In previous Stars Without Number campaigns, I've kinda half-assed the faction game - paid lip services to it but just decided what was happening in interplanetary politics as if I was writing a novel.  While that is a completely valid way to play, the faction system offers an interesting and simple game to play that can produce results outside of my comfort zone of creativity.

I really like that idea, and am implementing it for the Redshirts campaign.  I don't know if the players will ever reach that level of power, but it's a game I can play with myself and generate new ideas with.

I'm also thinking of documenting the behind the curtains action on the blog here, if anyone is interested.

- Ark

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Redshirts: Failure


Manna 'Doc' Davies - played by Skipper
The first time I saw an RPG run with more than ten players was only a couple of years ago.  Matt Finch, of Swords & Wizardry, was running 14 of us through Mythrus Tower at NTPRG Con.  Matt's DM methodology included standing on top of a chair and yelling, as well as using a giant, schoolroom sized white board for combat diagramming - all to wonderful effect.

There were nine players in the Stars Without Number game last session.  I'm still trying to get use to such a large party.  I think I need a nice, stable chair to stand on – but things have been working out anyway.  Merwyn, the in-game CO, acts as caller – which helps a lot.  And Adelaide has this habit of raising her hand and staring at me with an undying glare until I acknowledge her.

This session saw Kaye with his new psychic combat character – Nick Scryer the grenade teleportist.  A new lady gamer, Skipper, showed up to play as well.   She sketched her warrior, Manna ‘Doc’ Davies, up above.

The title of this blog includes 'Failure,' and so did the game session.  The party was supposed to deposit a flight team onto an ancient starship and leave, but the complications became too great - the main complication being an enemy fleet attempting to secure the ancient ship for themselves.

Lessons learned:
  1. Infiltrating a star system in a snail-slow shuttle is folly, no matter how well cloaked it is.
  2. Grenade teleportation is effective and sneaky.
  3. Resource poor star faring nations would most likely mount Reaper Battery on any of their Patrol Boats.
  4. Calling a Reaper Battery an Ion Cannon saves a lot of time in-game, because everyone has seen Empire.
  5. Kaye has not seen Empire.
  6. Using the terms 'Scotty,' 'Chekov,' and 'Uhura' to describe enemy crew members is a quick and efficient way to get descriptive data to the characters during a loud and hectic combat sequence.
  7. Kaye has not seen Trek.
  8. Kaye will be voted off the island.
  9. Throwing in an electrified bridge floor is a fun way to knock out half the party.
  10. Having a violent fire-fight on a ship's bridge will destroy the controls on said bridge.
  11. All players will violently argue that if a ship's bridge is destroyed, one can easily reroute the piloting controls to engineering because that is how all starships are designed and that everyone knows that, even if they have never watched Star Wars or Star Trek.

Our dear Adelaide has documented the fun below in glorious purple:

Stars Without Number (Bullet Points :D)
  • The team awakes from cryosleep again, lots of vomiting is going on. Again
  • They are joined by a new psychic named Nick Scryer
  • The group swears they see metallic scorpions on the floor with tiny people chasing them but eventually that goes away and they are asked to go to the mess hall.
  • As they are eating lt. Commander Gonzales tells everyone “good job” for the last mission but that Newt, the child that they rescued, is not going under for cryosleep and that she is “creepy.” However, she is also able to operate the ship which is helpful.
  • He also assigns them, excuse me, Lt. Taylor volunteers the group to go back to the hellspawn-Biotonics ship because the commander is interested in the tech on it.
  • They are to drop off two specialists named Brick and Brack
  • There are self-replicating scorpions being taken off the ship the group is about to get on. Yay.
  • Lt. Nathienal Taylor attempts to hack the scorpions and destroys them.
  • Newt tells the ship she’s actually a brain in a jar and the group bolts for the ship quickly and it takes 4 days to reach the main planet.
  • Lt. Taylor finds a frigate floating around in barren space, which seems to be 600 years old, that they choose to ignore.
  • They continue to encounter ships randomly. I think the DM is attempting to bait us onto one of these ships. It’s not working very well.
  • Slices of the ark are missing and seem to have made home on this new Russian planet.
  • Suddenly every scanning system on the planet turns towards their ship and “see’s” them, but they manage to seem nonthreatening.
  • The lieutenants decide it would be best to attempt to fly into the ark and are detected, ship battle starts.
  • They get hit by ion cannons twice and are about to be boarded by the enemy.
  • The enemy ship attaches a “rope” and what seems to be a walking tube to the side of their ship and everyone prepares for battle.
  • Loranzo and Kal Kek fires at the enemy Russians but only Kek hits, it does little damage however.
  • Scryer attempts to teleport one of the men outside of his suit but it fails.
  • Marina “Doc” Davies eviscerated one of the armor suits in the doorway.
  • Everyone else fails at killing things.
  • Owlicious continues to hide in the back because she has learned from previous missions she is NOT a good tank. Survival of the smartest, bitches.
  • Lt. Mark Five gets knocked flat.
  • Three people come in behind the power-armored suits but they are only in normal suits.
  • Scryer shuts down all the power suits and the three guys behind them are dead.
  • There is chatter coming over the groups helmets, they decide to look down the tube to the other ship. They see there is another man down the tube and Professor Ramapudi shoots and kills him.
  • Everyone rushes like Han Solo down the tube to the new ship with the power armored people in the front.
  • Loranzo fires some spikes down the hall and turns it into a bloody mist.
  • “Doc” Davies throws a grenade down the hall at the enemies. Two of them go SPLAT and one guy looks stunned but still has his gun.
  • Kal Kek fires at one of the remaining men after he witnesses “Doc” Davies throw a grenade.
  • Scryer teleports a grenade to the last guys and blows them to pieces.
  • Owlicious is pretty sure she’s found a toilet.
  • Everyone else attempts to kill everyone not friendly on the ship that they come into contact with and one lone man flees for his life.
  • Owlicious makes it past as a door closes but Doctor Daktan and Mark Five get locked out before teleporting in.
  • Loranzo climbs up a ladder and sticks his head in to look around and “Doc” Davies gets impatient and moves him forcibly out of her way to get through.
  • Lt. Taylor and Professor Ramapudi attempt to hack the ship, but it doesn't go so well.
  • Kal Kek pushes “Doc” Davies out of the way much like she did to Loranzo but she quickly recovers and opens fire at the men shooting at Loranzo. She splats another against the wall.
  • Kal Kek fires at the other guy shooting and blows his head clean off.
  • Scryer finally managed to get through the ladder shoot and fires with his spike thrower at the captain and misses, destroying lots of valuable equipment.
  • Professor Ramapudi heads to the engineering room and the rest of the group hears shooting.
  • Lt. Taylor bolts for the engineering room quickly and Owlicious makes it just in time to blow Scotties brains out leaving Doctor Daktan alone in the hallway. He then begins skulking around the ship before heading for the med bay.
  • Kal Kek, Scryer, and “Doc” Davies get shocked unconscious but Loranzo stays standing. The captain and the other guy also get knocked out but Uhura is completely untouched. He opens fire at her with a spike thrower that rips her into a thousand tiny pieces.  Angry Loranzo is angry.
  • Professor Ramapudi attempts to halt the detonation but messes up and the time goes quickly down to just ten seconds. Luckily Lt. Taylor manages to turn the computer off before it counts down much more. 
  • Everybody in the bridge wakes up and “Doc” Davies can smell her hair burning. She see’s Doctor Daktan slit someone’s throat.  She then ties up the unconscious captain and prepares to react if he wakes up. You know, hovers over him ready to bash his brains in with the butt of her gun and all that.
  • Professor Ramapudi loots Scotty's body and finds commands that allows him to give Mark Five control to fly the ship.
  • They decide it is best to just bail as fast as possible out of the area using this new ship.
  • Mark Five attempts to jump the ship back to the three sisters and he nails it with the help of Professor Ramapudi and “Doc” Davies. His “jumping virginity” is now gone.

…to be continued <3


:)

- Ark

Monday, October 29, 2012

NSFW


In case you've been wondering what I've been drawing lately - instead of the comic - here is an example. :)

- Ark

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Spears Without Number . . . No . . . Wait . . .


I've been looking over the shoulder of a friend who already has downloaded his alpha copy of Spears of the Dawn, and I must say, I'm very excited.  Kevin Crawford certainly seems to know how to do a Kickstarter right.  And what's more, he's releasing all of the artwork into the public domain.  I'm tickled pink.

It bugs me that mega-corporations go around squeezing drawings of anthropomorphic mice until they've wrung out all the money that they can, long after their creators of the images are dead, instead of letting that intellectual property go back to the culture that helped spawn it and become folklore instead of a cash cow for people who are already rich.  Call me a communist if you want, but companies are not people and information wants to be free, baby.

Oops, sorry, I appear to be on a soapbox.  Let me climb down . . .

So Kevin Crawford's Spears of the Dawn - yeah - awesome.

A couple of friends and I were sitting around the table last week playing Thunderstone (awesome card game, btw,) and the discussion moved towards Spears of the Dawn.  I'm very interested in it - and so is Merwyn.  I see it as a great opportunity to role play in types of cultures that are rarely explored in RPGs.

Crazy-Ass Tim worried that playing an African culture based RPG would lead to stereotypes - unpleasant ones - popping out all over the place.  Kaye - our resident African-American - had similar fears.  We are all in The South, after all, and our stream-of-consciousness role playing style amplifies ugliness sometimes.

Perhaps I have more faith in humanity.  Perhaps I have studied more, as a person who once wanted to be a history professor, about the rich history and culture of the peoples of Africa, and see a wealth of gaming and role playing opportunities.  Perhaps I am huffing paint.  But I think it would be very fun, and could be done in a non-offensive manner.

The stereotype issue - well yeah, RPGs have stereotypes, though the term archetype is used more often.  D&D uses European stereotypes, but it's so ingrained that most of us don't even notice.  Take the ideas of elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins and move them back in time through D&D and Tolkien into mythology, and I'm sure they represented particular groups and cultures that the people telling the original stories didn't like, or didn't understand.  James Raggi tends to talk about that a lot, if you've ever noticed. :)

What I'm seeing from the alpha of Spears of the Dawn is a concerted effort to avoid negative stereotypes, and to educate gamers on broad facets of medieval African-ish culture, so that players understand their place in the game setting, and so that GMs know how to run the thing.  He's condensed what that players need to know about their chosen culture (of which there are five to choose from,) into a single page.  Okay, yeah, that is simplifying to the extreme - but it's a heck of a lot more information than you get from Basic D&D about Elf culture.  The GM gets a lot more data.

So, while I haven't delved deeply into it, the culture and setting look great.  Almost all of the game mechanics are the same ones from Stars Without Number.  There are some twists to the Death and Dying rules that I actually prefer, and I have been kind of soft-house ruling something similar myself in the Redshirts campaign - in that a stabilized but unconscious character is very boring to play - so why not have them be awake, just not able to do much.  I like his mechanic for that a lot.

The spell system appears to be a whole 'nother beast than the Psychic powers in SWN.  I haven't really read any of it, so I don't know.  Skimming it, I did see some casting times listed that were very long indeed, so looks like we have ritual based magic here as well as regular combat stuff.  I like that kind of spell diversity.

A while back I did a mini-review of a book called Essential African Mythology: Stories That Changed the World in this blog post.  I think the book would be an excellent companion piece to Spears of the Dawn for GMs and players alike.

So, I'm really pleased with what I've seen from Spears of the Dawn, and I'm sure it will illicit more discussion around the gaming table soon.

- Ark